Turkey is a country that is both within Europe and Asia - the Turkish Straits that run through the country in the North West is generally believed to be the splitting point between Europe and Asia. Due to this location, it has a diverse culture that include Eastern and Western traits and characteristics. Turkey is not in the EU either - and as mentioned in my previous posts this is probably the key factor that has led to Turkey becoming the most popular holiday destination in Europe, overtaking Spain. As the Euro has increased in power against the pound, holiday makers are looking further afield to get the best holiday bargains available. Turkey is now on average about £100 cheaper per person than Spain is - this fact carries great weight with cash-strapped tourists eager to save money before worse financial times kick in further down the line.
Turkey posesses many qualities that help it top the list of most popular holiday destinations - it has a diverse history, as it was home to the Ottoman Empire, a powerful empire spanning three continents, it has a good, hot climate, food is good and the people are friendly. Also, there are a range of possible holiday destinations for prospective tourists - breaks to the cites of Turkey such as Istanbul or more relaxing coastal holidays to unwind after a long period of work back home - Turkey provides it all.
Thursday, 29 January 2009
Saturday, 17 January 2009
Non EU Holiday Destinations
In my last post I talked about how the worsening economy is leading to a surge of people booking their holidays to non EU holiday destinations. Non EU does not necessarily a country that is outside Europe – many European holiday destinations are outside of the EU. The EU stands for the European Union – a political and economic union of 27 member countries. There are still a number of countries within Europe that are not members – these may be worth considering when thinking about where to book your holiday as the Euro will not be used in these countries.
As mentioned before, it is the poor pound sterling to Euro exchange rate that is the main factor here, which has indirectly arisen because of the so called ‘credit crunch’. The value of the pound has fallen because foreign banks and businesses are no longer investing money in this currency, so to encourage people to invest from abroad the price of it has fallen in comparison to the Euro. This has meant the average cost of a holiday to a country using the Euro has risen significantly, leading the public to look further a field in their hunt for a cheap holiday.
There are several Western European counties that do not use the Euro – these are Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In Eastern Europe there are more countries who have remained independent and not entered the EU – such as Croatia, Russia and Turkey.
Out of these, Croatia and Turkey would be both be excellent choices if budget is important. Switzerland is an excellent destination for a keen skier but typically this would be quite expensive anyway. Iceland is renowned as an expensive country due to its high taxes – a pint of beer costs around £6. Russia is also very expensive in some areas – Moscow for example is thought to be the Worlds most expensive city.
As mentioned before, it is the poor pound sterling to Euro exchange rate that is the main factor here, which has indirectly arisen because of the so called ‘credit crunch’. The value of the pound has fallen because foreign banks and businesses are no longer investing money in this currency, so to encourage people to invest from abroad the price of it has fallen in comparison to the Euro. This has meant the average cost of a holiday to a country using the Euro has risen significantly, leading the public to look further a field in their hunt for a cheap holiday.
There are several Western European counties that do not use the Euro – these are Iceland, Norway, Switzerland and Liechtenstein. In Eastern Europe there are more countries who have remained independent and not entered the EU – such as Croatia, Russia and Turkey.
Out of these, Croatia and Turkey would be both be excellent choices if budget is important. Switzerland is an excellent destination for a keen skier but typically this would be quite expensive anyway. Iceland is renowned as an expensive country due to its high taxes – a pint of beer costs around £6. Russia is also very expensive in some areas – Moscow for example is thought to be the Worlds most expensive city.
Sunday, 4 January 2009
Holidays & the Economy
Personally, I'm fed up of people going on about the credit crunch and how we're all going to starve due to a lack of food - and if we don't starve we're going to freeze because gas and electricity prices are sky high. Yes it's probably all true, but unless we work in the Bank of England of happen to own an oil field we can't really do much about it - or is there?
I recently read an interesting article in the Telegraph about how people's choice of holiday destination is changing dramatically due to the faltering British Economy. At the moment the Sterling/Euro exchange rate is at a terrible - 1 Euro costs 95.7 pence. Only a year or two ago a Euro cost us about 60p - the change is dramatic. Add harges placed on cash withdrawls and por exchange rates in some shops and you are basically paying £1 for a Euro. This has led people to look outside the EU for their 2009 holiday destination.
Spain has for a long time been the UK's favourite holiday destination - a country with excellent cheap package deals, good food and excellent weather - a classic destination for us Brits. However, apparently, Turkey has overtaken Spain as the most popular destination for the UK - an astounding fact in my opinion. This is mainly due to the average cost of a holiday to the 2 countries - a holiday to Turkey costs over £100 less, per person, than Spain, partly due to the poor exchange rate.
So in conclusion, there are things we can do to prevent starvation during these harsh economic times, and the public have acted already. A simple change of holiday destination to a potentially cheaper non-EU country can help save our hard earned cash, and maybe our lives too.
I recently read an interesting article in the Telegraph about how people's choice of holiday destination is changing dramatically due to the faltering British Economy. At the moment the Sterling/Euro exchange rate is at a terrible - 1 Euro costs 95.7 pence. Only a year or two ago a Euro cost us about 60p - the change is dramatic. Add harges placed on cash withdrawls and por exchange rates in some shops and you are basically paying £1 for a Euro. This has led people to look outside the EU for their 2009 holiday destination.
Spain has for a long time been the UK's favourite holiday destination - a country with excellent cheap package deals, good food and excellent weather - a classic destination for us Brits. However, apparently, Turkey has overtaken Spain as the most popular destination for the UK - an astounding fact in my opinion. This is mainly due to the average cost of a holiday to the 2 countries - a holiday to Turkey costs over £100 less, per person, than Spain, partly due to the poor exchange rate.
So in conclusion, there are things we can do to prevent starvation during these harsh economic times, and the public have acted already. A simple change of holiday destination to a potentially cheaper non-EU country can help save our hard earned cash, and maybe our lives too.
Saturday, 3 January 2009
Portugal
Portugal is a popular European holiday destination bordering Spain. About half the country's circumference is coastal - one reason why Portugal is one of Europes's best holiday destinations - tourists love the sea!
Portugal has a beutiful mediterranean climate like its Spanish neighbour - another huge draw for holidaymakers for colder countries such as England! In fact Portugal is one of the most popular holiday destinations for the UK - the Algarve region is the 5th most popular destination at present. And it is not hard to see why - it is only a 3 hour flight from England, it is relatively cheap, and has everything most holidaymakers look for in a holiday - great weather, beautiful cuisine, laid-back lifestyle and gorgeous beaches and sea.
The cuisine in Portugal is diverse and caters for everyone. Especially popular along the coast are fish dishes - bacalhau, or dried cod, is a national speciality with hundreds of recipes. Freshly caught grilled sardines are also very popular - tucking into a plate of these while staring out across the ocean is hard to beat. Unless you've also got a nice Sagres beer to go with it as well, perhaps.
Algarve, Portugal
Portugal has a beutiful mediterranean climate like its Spanish neighbour - another huge draw for holidaymakers for colder countries such as England! In fact Portugal is one of the most popular holiday destinations for the UK - the Algarve region is the 5th most popular destination at present. And it is not hard to see why - it is only a 3 hour flight from England, it is relatively cheap, and has everything most holidaymakers look for in a holiday - great weather, beautiful cuisine, laid-back lifestyle and gorgeous beaches and sea.
The cuisine in Portugal is diverse and caters for everyone. Especially popular along the coast are fish dishes - bacalhau, or dried cod, is a national speciality with hundreds of recipes. Freshly caught grilled sardines are also very popular - tucking into a plate of these while staring out across the ocean is hard to beat. Unless you've also got a nice Sagres beer to go with it as well, perhaps.
Algarve, Portugal
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